“The United States remains deeply concerned by the ongoing anti-democratic actions of the Georgian government, which are incompatible with membership norms of the European Union and NATO,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday.
“In addition to the passage of the so-called ‘foreign influence law,’ we have also seen the Georgian government repeatedly violently crack down on Georgian citizens who protested that law.” Politics has been unsettled since the October 2020 parliamentary election, which the opposition refused to accept despite observers finding it to be basically free and competitive. Although demonstrators hoisted the banner of democracy, Georgia Dream has won three straight elections going back to 2012.
Nor is passage of a “foreign agents” bill inherently undemocratic, let alone “Russian inspired,” as the Biden administration charged. The new law only requires groups to disclose foreign funding if the contribution accounts for a fifth or more of their budget. By its own terms “this Law regulates the registration of an entity as an organization pursuing the interest of a foreign power and other issues related to the transparency of the activities of an organization pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” and “may not restrict the activities of an entity registered as an organization pursuing the interest of a foreign power on the basis of this Law.”
However, the State Department insisted that, “The draft legislation poses a threat to civil society organizations whose work benefits the lives of everyday citizens of Georgia.” The European Commission’s “Venice Commission” concluded: “Being designated as an entity pursuing the interests of a foreign power under the Law has serious implications as it undermines both the financial stability and credibility of the organizations targeted as well as their operations. … The persistent and stigmatizing obstacles concentrated in the hands of the state create a chilling effect.”
Alas, allied accusers have little credibility. Noted Serge Schmemann of the New York Times: “while Americans and Europeans are ramping up the pressure to take down Georgia’s bill, they might take a look at their own ‘foreign agent’ legislation to ensure that it never becomes weaponized for political reasons.”
But it is too late, at least in the US. The Foreign Agents Registration Act requires agents of “foreign principals”— defined as foreign governments, political parties, entities, and people — to register. Engaging in political or PR activities, collecting or spending money, and representing foreign principals to the U.S. government make one a foreign agent, subject to FARA’s registration, disclosure, and record-keeping requirements.
The law firm Covington & Burling warned: “FARA is written so broadly that, if read literally, it could potentially require registration even for some routine business activities of law firms and “FARA has no de minimis threshold. It can be triggered by even the slightest activity that means any one of the statutory triggers.”
As for Georgia, one suspects Tbilisi’s target is U.S. and European support for de facto regime change. Of course, Washington doesn’t put it that way. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller echoed Biden: “We are deeply concerned that draft legislation introduced into Georgia’s parliament will derail Georgia from its European path and harm civil society organizations improving the lives of Georgian citizens. We urge the government of Georgia to advance its EU aspirations.”
